Catcher In The Rye Reading Log - Kyle Keast

Chapters 1 & 2

"I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all."

Chapters 3 & 4

"He kept standing there. He was exactly the kind of a guy that wouldn't get out of your light when you asked him to.He'd do it, finally, but it took him a lot longer if you asked him to" (Salinger 28).

Holden is pushing Ackley away. Although Ackley comes on much stronger than most people do, Holden will not put up with any of it. He always has a bad attitude while talking to Ackley and will not allow Ackley to talk to him. This contributes to Holden's idea of community. He is alienated from the rest of the community because he will not let anyone in to his. If he cannot even have a short conversation with Ackley about a book, he will not be able to be accepted into a community as big as Pencey or any school he goes to. Even beyond that, if he cannot accept anyone, he will be alienated from all communities later in his life.

Chapters 5 & 6

Holden describes the death of his brother, Allie. He describes it callously, simply stating what happened with no emotion. He punched in all the windows of his garage and has no compunction for that. Holden has an indelible memory of this. Later on, Stradlater quells Holden by punching him in the face. He did this because Holden kept calling him a moron for being with Jane. Stradlater is not very indulgent, holding down Holden when Holden begged him to get up.

Chapters 7-13

7. Does Holden value education?

8. Why does Holden lie to Ernest Morrow's mother about his name and why he is leaving Pencey?

9. When Holden asks the cab driver where the ducks go in the winter, what is the significance of the driver being uninterested?

10. Why does Holden think highly of his siblings but not many other people?

11. Why does Holden become close to and open up to Jane but not any other girl?

12. Why does he ask the second cab driver where the ducks go?

13. Why did Holden say yes to the elevator operator's offer?

John Green Video

1. Holden wants time to stop. Holden wants to remain a kid because he thinks of time as a straight line to the pressure and phoniness that comes with adulthood. This does not mean that he doesn't like change. Although he does not try to get expelled from Pencey, he does. He will need to change schools and go to school with brand new people. This is a big change that he could have stopped if he really wanted to. He wants to remain a child but not keep everything the same.

2. Holden wants the answer of what to do from an adult. He asks a varity of people what to do. When he asks the cab driver where the ducks go in the winter, he wants the cab driver to give him the answer that will make Holden happy.

3. At the end, Holden realizes that time is a circle, not a line. He understands that it is a circle back and forth from innocence to awareness, not just a line straight to adulthood.

Chapters 14 - 17

14. Holden calls himself a pacifist, but he encourages violence by insulting Maurice when he is punching him. Is he a pacifist?

15. Is Holden really a good guy on the insine dispite how he talks to people?